Happy and Sad Times. Retrospective: Nurse Jackie Season Finale – “Soul”

Season 5, Episode 10

Air Date: Sunday, June 16, 2013, 9 pm ET/PT on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

“You leave the church, it never leaves you.” – Wally

Jackie declares her sobriety after being clean for a whole year.

Jackie (Edie Falco) has had to face a lot of trials and tribulations this season and has done a good job of staying sober…so far. Not an easy thing to do, I’m sure. We began the season with “Happy F. Birthday,” which brought two new doctors to All Saints—Dr. Carrie Roman (Betty Gilpin) and Dr. Ike Prentiss (Morris Chestnut)—while Jackie’s long-time friend, Dr. Eleanor O’Hara (Eve Best) left for London to be a full-time mommy. In later episodes, Jackie went through a bitter divorce from Kevin (Dominic Fumusa), fought him for custody of their two daughters, Fiona (Mackenzie Aladjem) and Grace (Ruby Jerins), the latter of which is defying Jackie at every turn. A new love entered Jackie’s life in the form of police officer Frank Verelli (Adam Ferrara), a relationship she had difficulty time accepting, and in episode five, “Good Thing,” Dr. Mike Cruz (Bobby Cannavale) returned, seeking comfort from Jackie in more ways than one. Throughout the season, we’ve watched Gloria Akalitus (Anna Deavere Smith) suffering from the effects of Alzheimer’s—or so we thought until Jackie took matters in her own hands—and Dr. Fitch Cooper, aka “Coop” (Peter Facinelli), drooling over Carrie and engaging in various raucous sexual encounters with her at the hospital. And, of course there’s Zoey (Merritt Wever), who always seems to be in Jackie’s face whether Jackie likes it or not, and is everyone’s best friend.

So here we are, skidding into the season finale with Jackie and Frank’s relationship up in the air, Jackie and Kevin dealing with an extremely troubled Grace who is imitating her mother’s drug habit, and Jackie insisting both daughters should live with Kevin. And let’s not forget the sexual romp Zoey and Prentiss engaged in last week, and Coop’s hurt feelings where Carrie is concerned. “Soul” addresses all these issues, and so much more in an episode that simultaneously leaves you both happy and sad.

It’s the one-year anniversary of Jackie’s sobriety and a huge party is planned to celebrate her status. But, one by one, everyone seems to be bailing. Needless to say, Grace couldn’t care less about Jackie’s ceremony, Frank is too angry with Jackie to want to celebrate anything with her, and Eddie (Paul Schulze) is just plain fed up with the way Jackie treats him and doesn’t want to be in the same room with her family.

Even though Coop says Wally should go into hospice care, Jackie finds a way to keep him in All Saints.

With Wally on the brink of death, Coop thinks he should go to a hospice.

One of Jackie’s redeeming qualities is the way she treats her patients. No matter what crap she’s dealing with, she always puts their care first. When Wally (John Cullam), an 80-year-old “gay man in New York City who managed to get old,” and is “22 years sober,” comes to All Saints in the last stages of liver cancer, Jackie finds a way to keep him there under her watchful eye instead of sending him to a hospice as Coop suggests. Needless to say, Thor (Stephen Wallem) gravitates to Wally, especially when he realizes they have a shared history, and the respect and honesty of emotions displayed as Wally goes downhill is both heartfelt and realistic. But nothing hits you in the gut like the scene in which Jackie gives Wally his last rites, at his request. Both Falco and Wallem absolutely shine in their scenes with Cullam; Wallem particularly as he makes me shed a tear…or three. And I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on how brilliantly Cullam portrays a man on the brink of death, and Wallem’s beautiful voice when he sings “One for the Road” after Wally passes. Many people have sung that song—including Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett, and Lena Horne, just to name a few—and Wallem can throw down with the best of them. For a show that is billed as a dark comedy, Nurse Jackie does an excellent job of tackling some heavy and sad topics.

Carrie faces the firing squad, literally.

Carrie learns she is up for peer review in front of Coop, Prentiss, and Akalitus, who also invites Jackie to attend. I really had to laugh when Carrie is more concerned about what she’s wearing than the process itself. It’s just so Carrie! Of course, Akalitus fires her but not without an impassioned speech by Coop, who does a great job of defending Carrie. What is surprising, though, are the heartfelt emotions Carrie displays when admitting her only problem is not a lack of skill, but a lack of self-confidence. Gilpin impressed me with her acting in this scene, proving she is more than a pretty face with a great body. She appears vulnerable for the first time, and I love the way her bottom lip quivers when she realizes she’s about to lose her job. Carrie is one smart cookie, though, and should never be counted out.

After sharing a sex-filled evening with Zoey last week, Prentiss seems to want a relationship with her despite her protestations. Despite his no-nonsense mannerisms at All Saints, he exhibits some very tender feelings for Zoey that seem to be breaking down her defenses. But after what happens with Carrie, I’m pretty sure he’s thinking twice about it. I swear, if he hurts Zoey’s feelings…well, you know what I mean.

Speaking of Zoey, don’t you just love when she kidnaps Grace and drives her to Jackie’s one-year anniversary celebration even though she doesn’t know how to drive? For a minute there, I thought she was going to kill both of them before getting there! Jerins does an awesome job with the breakdown Grace has in the car, letting Grace’s teenage vulnerability and anguish shine through. She actually made me feel sorry for Grace! Too bad every teenager doesn’t have a Zoey in their life.

Laughable and memorable lines:

Jackie: “Sir, do you have any nausea, a rash, anything?”

Wally: “No, but I’ve got pain.”

Jackie: “How much, on a scale of one to ten?”

Wally: “It only goes to ten?”

Coop: “Peer reviews can be life changing. Every doctor here went through his version.”

Carrie: “And?”

Coop: “Some got to stay.”

Carrie: “Shit. I so would not have worn this outfit had I known I’d be standing in front of you guys today.”

Jackie: “Can any part of you be nice to any part of me today?”

Eddie: “Not my job, to make things nice for you. I give you work advice, relationship advice, do homework with your kid—exactly when did I become your girlfriend?”

My favorite line in “Soul” comes from Frank, during the throes of an argument with Jackie: “You know I can be pissed at you and still love you, right?” On a personal note, this is something I realized when I first met my husband, a passionate, at times hot-headed, Italian, not unlike Frank. I don’t think Jackie understands the concept of being able to argue with your significant other while still caring for them. Not every argument means divorce. I’m glad Frank explains it because it leads to them repairing their relationship, and Jackie saying, “I love you,” in bed. That put a huge old grin on my face.

Looks like everyone showed up after all.

With a surprise appearance by Dr. O’Hara at Jackie’s celebration, I can only hope Best will return to Nurse Jackie next year. I don’t know about you but I missed her. With things finally looking up for Jackie, I don’t understand why she downs the Oxy she placed inside her wedding band before the party where she proudly announces, “I am an addict and today, I am sober for one year.” Really, Jackie? Has she fallen off the wagon, or has she decided she no longer needs a reminder of where she’s been? If that’s the case, why didn’t she just flush it? Or is this Jackie’s way of thumbing her nose at everyone? I guess we’ll have to wait until season six to find out.

Follow the show on Twitter @Sho_Network using the hash tag #NurseJackie. Like Nurse Jackie on Facebook, and stay up to date with the series on its official website.

More Twitter follows for you: Coop @peterfacinelli, Gloria @AnnaDeavereS, Thor @StephenWallem, and Dr. Prentiss @Morris_Chestnut.

Biography of the Author(Read Below)..
Latest Posts (view them )..

Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!